Det er brutalt, at mennesker tilbageholdes af myndighederne og deres familier intet får at vide, før ligene af de tilbageholde dukker op med mærker efter tortur. Det skriver Human Rights Watch på organisationens hjemmeside onsdag.
MANAMA, 13 April 2011: Bahrain’s public prosecutor should investigate 3 deaths in custody reported since April 3, 2011, and hold accountable anyone found responsible for torture, ill-treatment, or denial of medical care, Human Rights Watch said Wednesday.
Human Rights Watch observed the body of 1 of the 3 men, Ali Isa Ibrahim Saqer, which bore signs of horrific abuse.
Human Rights Watch also called on the government to disclose the whereabouts of detainees, permit them to contact their families and lawyers, and open detention centers to independent inspection.
As of April 6, the opposition Wifaq National Islamic Society had collected names of 430 people who relatives say have been arrested since demonstrations began on February 14.
“It’s outrageous and cruel that people are taken off to detention and the families hear nothing until the body shows up with signs of abuse,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities need to explain why this is happening, put a stop to it, and hold anyone responsible to account.”
Ali Isa Ibrahim Saqer, 31, turned himself in to police in Hamad Town on April 3, his family told Human Rights Watch. Police had been looking for him in connection with an incident during anti-government demonstrations in which the authorities alleged that he tried to run over a policeman with his car but hit a protester.
Police had visited relatives at least 3 times, saying that if Saqer did not turn himself in, they would detain the relatives instead, family members said.
After Saqer surrendered, his family heard nothing more about him until April 9, when the interior Ministry announced that he had died in custody. The Interior Ministry issued a statement published in Bahrain newspapers that he had “created chaos” in a detention center, “which led security forces to bring the situation under control,” resulting in his death.
Human Rights Watch viewed Saqer’s remains during the ritual body washing before he was buried in his home village of Sehla on April 10. His body showed signs of severe physical abuse. The left side of his face showed a large patch of bluish skin with a reddish-purple area near his left temple and a two-inch cut to the left of his eye. Lash marks crisscrossed his back, some reaching to his front right side. Blue bruises covered much of the back of his calves, thighs, and buttocks, as well as his right elbow and hip. The tops of his feet were blackened, and lacerations marked his ankles and wrists.
searched for al-Asherri at the Muharraq police station, but officers there provided no information about him. On April 9, the Interior Ministry announced that al-Asherri had died in detention, attributing his death to complications from sickle cell anemia.
Since Bahraini military and security forces violently dispersed pro-democracy protests on March 15 and 16, at least three other civilians have died in custody under suspicious circumstances. In all of these cases the people were apparently taken into custody alive but later died at the BDF hospital, in the village of A’ali south of Manama.
The Convention against Torture, which Bahrain ratified in 1998, prohibits torture and ill-treatment under all circumstances. In a February 2010 report, Human Rights Watch concluded that security officials repeatedly used torture for the apparent purpose of securing confessions from security suspects.
Bahrain officials claimed in response that torture was neither routine nor systematic, and that anyone found to be responsible would be punished. To Human Rights Watch’s knowledge, there have been no independent investigations or prosecutions concerning cases documented in its report.
Bahrain is a state party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Article 9 states that “anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him,” and “shall be brought promptly before a judge or other officer authorized by law to exercise judicial power.”
The United Nations Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment specifies that “medical care and treatment shall be provided whenever necessary.”
Since March 15, Bahrain has operated under martial law, officially labeled a “State of National Safety,” which gave authorities wide powers of arrest, censorship, and prohibitions on freedom of movement and association.
